The preliminaries were poor, and the injuries were great. It was difficult to guarantee the prize, but he won the gold medal around his neck. This is the story of Hwang Seon-woo (19, Gangwon Provincial Office), the “hope of Korean swimming,” who won the men’s 200m freestyle for the second time in a row at the Melbourne Short Course (25m) World Swimming Championships in Australia.

Hwang Seon-woo, who returned to Korea via Incheon International Airport on the 20th, said at a meeting with reporters, “I was worried because I was in poorer condition than last year.”

It is Hwang Seon-woo who achieved his second consecutive victory with a new Asian record of 1 minute 39 seconds 72 in the men’s 200m freestyle final of this event held on the 18th. It is a much better record than when she won the gold medal (1:41:60) in Abu Dhabi, UAE last year. Beating his rivals David Popovich (Romania, 1:40:79) and Tom Dean (United Kingdom, 1:40:86) is also a harvest. Earlier, in June, at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, she added a silver medal (1:44:47) in the 200m freestyle, ending the year in a good mood.

However, behind the splendid results, there were also trials. In the 100 m freestyle, he placed ninth in the semifinals (46 seconds 41), missing out on a ticket to the final, which was given to eighth place. In the 200m freestyle, he did a pull-up in 8th place (1:42:44) in the semifinals, the final round, but suffered an injury to his right middle finger in the touchdown process. In addition, Lane 8, the starting point of the finals, has a narrow field of view and is greatly affected by the current, and it was the first lane he had ever served in an international competition.

Regarding the situation at the time, Hwang Seon-woo said, “I was in a hurry, so there was a mistake in the touch process. He also had severe pain and swelling,” he said. “I focused on recovery for 7 hours. I only cared about myself, not Lane and the opponent.” 안전놀이터

This gold medal is the result of the synergy of Hwang Sun-woo’s talent and efforts, and the support of the Korea Swimming Federation and his team, Gangwon Provincial Office. In the field training in Melbourne promoted by the federation in April, he was guided by Ian Pope, general manager of the Melbourne Swimming Club (Australia), and in September, with the support of the Gangwon Provincial Office, he trained in the alpine region of Erzurum, Turkey, at an altitude of 2100m for three weeks. Hwang Seon-woo himself said, “I learned skills that cannot be obtained in Korea for kicks and turns. He confessed that it became easier to adjust his pace.”

Naturally, expectations are high for the role he will play at the Fukuoka World Championships next year and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Regarding next year’s goal, Hwang Seon-woo said, “The record of 1 minute 39 seconds in the short course is very valuable even in the long course (50m)” and “You can expect a gold medal in the men’s 200m freestyle at the Asian Games.